Merced, California
Myca and I knew each other since high school, so to say I’m proud of her and am very fortunate to have her as my friend for the past decade would be an understatement. Zak is Myca’s boyfriend, which I believe I knew sometime after I graduated, though they’ve known each other for much longer. We’re all from the Bay Area however, and that’s why we first went to the Golden Gate Bridge for photos. For someone who was born and raised in the Bay Area, I surprisingly know very little about the visual attractions around here, but we went there to change that.
I knew a little about the area from my escapade with my friend Xuanle a couple months back, but we never went to the west side of the Golden Gate Bridge. I’ve seen many proposals and romantic photos taken there, if I am to do something similar in the future, I thought it’d be a good idea to explore that area this time around. We climbed old ramparts, scaled muddy cliffs, and took photos of it all along the way. We didn’t have enough time to figure out how to get to the beach at the bottom of the cliff, but we were able to catch a beautiful sunset to finish the day with.
Not many people know this unless they read everything I write: I’m always willing to offer my services up for free to my friends. It’s a personal philosophy I intend to uphold for as long as I take photos. In a practical sense, it’s also easier to take photos with people I am familiar with, I’m more comfortable with them and can belay my confrontation with social anxiety for another photoshoot (another fun fact, my pricing is directly proportional to the amount of social anxiety I expect to encounter if a stranger requests my services haha). If you are a stranger to me and a potential client looking for a discount, food, boba, and a casual chat is the fastest way to my heart. A professional transaction becoming a friendly hangout session is my favorite way to take photos. As such, my friends bought me Jollibee that night, I managed to finish a giant bucket of Chickenjoy, a plate of Filipino spaghetti, and a bowl of rice in gravy.
Now onto Merced.
UC Merced has improved dramatically over the last few years. I believe my first visit was three years ago, when the Pavilion (UC Merced’s primary dining hall) still served dead rats and maggots in their salads and burgers. Props to the extra protein, but it was unsightly to see that come to pass on the Pav food review Instagram account. Now they serve the classiest meals I’ve ever seen, I’d wager to say the Pav has become way better than any UC Berkeley dining hall. They’ve also started building large monuments and attractions around campus, perhaps because there weren’t many interesting places to take photos. I remember thinking the campus just felt like a corporate office complex (don’t get me wrong, it’s a very clean and beautiful campus), but now there’s new statues, signs, murals, and culture around campus. It’ll make my job as a graduation photographer much more interesting.
Graduation photography around UC Merced is still a little new to me, but I’m glad I was given the opportunity to explore and figure out some nice shots and angles. If anyone would like photos from me, I’d love to be your photographer! I’d like to take some graduation photos at Lake Yosemite, and perhaps a few in Merced proper, though I wouldn’t know where to go, so if anyone would like to direct me, I’m down to explore with you!
Please buy me H&W and Scotts Diner plz thx : )
